Morning journal and courier., 1887-05-19
YALE THEOLOGICAL SCHOOL.

l Alumni meet1nS-fteInafks by Editor | Twining. Drs. Backus, Todd. Bur- dett Hart and Others-EceIes1astical Councils Considered.
 Battel1 chapel contained good sized audi
 ence yesterday morning, which included not
 few fair young ladies. On the platform sat President Dwight, Professors Harris, Bras
 tow, Day and Rev. Dr. Bourne of Sharon. Rev. Dr. Barbour, Rev. Dr. Todd, Hiram
 Camp and other gentlemen of prominence
 were present. There was fine singing by the
 choir of Yale. Prof. Stoeckel presided at
 the organ. The speaking by selected mem
 bers of the class was according to the pro-
 gramme yesterday and all acquitted them
 selves well. After the exercises President
 Dwight entertained the members of the grad
 uating class at lunch at his residence.
 The Marquand chapel was well filled yes-
 terday afternoon at 2:30 o'clock. It was the
 annual anniversarylof the alumni of the Yale Theological seminary.
 Rev. Dr. Anderson, of Waterbury, WAS elected chairman of the meeting.
 Prof. Day then read the necrology of the
 seminary during the past year. There were
 twelve names in the list. The average age
 attained by the deceased was seventy years.
 He read report of the present condition of the seminary During the past year much
 
 terms of the work being done by the mis- sionary graduates. The enlargement of the fund for aiding students who need pecuniary
 assistance was spoken of as very necessary.
 The Hooker graduate fellowship was an-
 nounced as having been divided between
 James Wilson, Dexter J. Hanover and Henry E. Bourne.
 The chairman announced that the time had arrived for the discussion of "Ecclesias-
 tical councils; their adequacy and their i'm
 portance in the Congregational system" He l said that the discussion would be opened by ! Rev. J. W. Backus, of Plainville.
 MT. Backus said that the council has done | geod work. At the recent meeting in -Des
 Moines after an exciting debate the council | was advanced as a means of settlement, ! while every other way of settlement was l closed. This act speaks volumes for this part of church polity. It showed growing l confidence and conviction in the thing as new exi zencies arise. In our early history the ! council gave to the minister his ecclesiastical
 standing. We might as well do away with the United States Senate as to do away with the town meeting So might we just well do away with the churches with he.eecle-
 siastical councils. The rural council will act | more wisely than an equally good body
 which is working in the harness, but not so closely allied with the churches where the council is. There are things said ! which do not tend toward the placing of con- | fdence in the council. This tends to bring | the council into disrepute. The inwardness of this is due to 8 theological controversy | lately had in sending missionaries to foreign lands
 Now I would like to ask why the council should not be allowed to decide on the ee- clesiastical fitness of missionaries at home, | but not on those sent abroad? It can be no more than 8 reproach on the denomination itself Our American Board of Foreign Mis- sions is embarrassed by theological ques- A. s. IL. ,,aT1 oc clashing of opinion. What can the council do, if anything?
 The great trouble is we try to do too much and thereby choke out thought I do not | believe in too much haste. We have only to | look back and see what great things the | council has done in letting things alone. | The council has moved along, putting either party into the pulpit if it could only get l Christ preached there. There could be no rupture there. It is sometimes said that the | council is too far away. But nevertheless | it has naver failed in it's point. ''The coun- l cil is the glory of Congregationalism, says | well known writer, ''so that it can adapt it. | self to all cases and emergencies" You can ! have no higher authority than this. In l looking back should we not be careful how we underestimate the fundamental princi- l pie of theological controversy?
 1 Rev. MT. Backus was followed by the Rev. Dr. Twining of New York, who is the editor | of the Independent and the son of the late Prof. Twining ot this city.
 Dr. Twining said that the whole question
 is to remove the deciding on candidates to ! foreign missions from the prudential con- mittee to the church council. If the churches | cannot be relied on to do this, I do not know | what can be relied on. If it is to be a theo- l logical mission it cannot remain with anyone
 but the church councils, and not the pruden- tial committee of the American board. | The Presbyterians have now withdrawn
 and but two divisions yet remain. The
 board is new the missionary agency of the l Congregational churches. A child may be l taken care of by those not it's parents, but | that child will be better trained if carefully cared for by it's parents. And so it is with l these candidates for foreign missions. Where l God placed right there should it lie. This is l the sum and substance of the Congregational I way of treating all things. While the Pres byterians were in the American board was | complex. When they withdrew they put
 their theology back in their churches. The | Congregationalists were the only ones who | placed the rights of commission outside | their churches. Then it became the ques- l tion, who has the right to decide? l This is the inevitable question which l we now have before us. The old doctrine | has come to be that of Congregational sim ! plicity. As Congregationalists we must de- 1 eide. If we are not in official cooperation | with other denominations, why should we | not pass on the theological qualifications of | candidates for foreign missions and go on in l our own way It was evident, when the 1 question came up. who had the right and l who had the jurisdiction. A man will follow | a tribunal which has original jurisdiction, 1 while he will not follow 8 tribunal that does
 not have the original jurisdiction. This is | the very thing that renders the American
 board unfit for deciding on the candidates. The churches have for original juris diction, which gives them moral authority. | It might seem that we could settle the ques- ! ton among us which is exciting so much dis l cussion But some genius has found that there are some difficulties and that the coun- | cil is not to be trusted on passing on the l theological fitness of missionary candidates. | This means, I say, that Congregationalism is | not to be trusted. If the councils are not 1 able to decide on the fitness of these candi- 1 dates, what are they fit to doa They have | trained the best of missionaries and I think 1 they can be trusted. The prudential con- 1 mittee of the board has sent out mission
 aries who have written in favor of the new l theology.
 l Rev. Dr. Walker, of Hartford, was next called upon. He began by telling of the present difficulty between the American board and the councils. We should go back l the theological fitness of deciding on the can | didates for foreign missionary work. A diff | 6culty arose between the board and the | councils The board would decide on | candidate before the council had any chance | to inquire into the matter.
 Rev. Dr. Burton, of Hartford, then arose and said that if there were any present who ! did not coincide with the views already ex- pressed he would like to hear them. He was | anxious to listen to what the mourners had l to say. Naughter)
 Rev. Dr. Todd of this city arose in one | corner of the chapel and addressed the semblage. He gave several illustrations of
 the difficulty as it now stands and spoke in l favor of the board. It is 0 question to teach | Christ to the heather in it's unity and integ-
 rity. am sure you will see something
 deeper ia it than 8 question of authority. l There is no question as to the number of missionaries. Why not send men who preach | in the purest and simplest way.
 l Dr. Todd got thoroughly aroused to what
 he said and gave an able argument in favor l of the American board as against all that
 had already been said. In closing his re-
 marks, with a remarkable degree of effective ' Ia 1,1 a1o